Always There for Me
by What Lies Beyond
Summary: Oneshot for TheSarcasticKnight's fic 'Lil'Bit'. Ever since he rescued her as a toddler from the ruins of her home, Lex has been close to her guardian, Smokescreen. And he would do anything for her-even if it's just being someone to talk to as she deals with a difficult question and a rough day at school.


He was the first thing she remembered.

She'd been so very young, too young to remember the chaos and destruction, too young to remember the family that had been taken from her. Too young, even to have any memories at all. And yet, she could remember every moment of that first encounter: Of a stifling darkness pulled away by a blue-eyed young man with an expression on his face that she couldn't read, but later would realize was a mix of grief and wild hope. Later, she would come to understand.

But at that point, all she knew was that the young man had lifted her from the dusty hollow where he had found her, carrying her as if she were as fragile as a bird and saying something softly under his breath that rose and fell like a song or a prayer—and it was, she would later know—and brought her to a sleek white car, and he set her gently in the passenger seat before he got in the driver's seat and began to slowly drive down the street, which was filled with bits of buildings and other things that didn't belong there.

Then they came to a place where the car could not go, and murmuring reassurances, the young man had taken her from the car and set her gently down on the ground a short distance away. He seemed to think that she would be frightened, but she wasn't—not when he shimmered and vanished, not when, in a flurry of movement and sound, the car became a person made of metal who crouched down and set his hand next to her, and without hesitation she scrambled into his palm. He had looked surprised, as if he had expected her to run, but she had not—she knew, with all the conviction of the innocent, that she could trust him. Because while he didn't look the same, his eyes had not changed, and in them she could see the kindness in his spirit.

Growing up, he was always there for her—telling jokes and funny stories, helping her learn to tie her shoes and ride a bike, taking her places when her parents were busy with their work. Even though they were as different as could be, he was her older brother and best friend, a shoulder to lean on when she was feeling down and the one person she could tell anything.

As she grew older, she learned more about him—who and what he really was, why he was here, what it meant for them to be so close. How it was that he came to find her, and what it revealed about her past. Even though some of what she learned terrified and saddened her, it made no difference—she trusted and loved him with all her heart.

And now, she needed him.

Finding her guardian had not been hard; he'd been talking with Jazz about the upcoming patrol and the conversation had been wrapping up by the time she'd arrived. She waited until the other mech had left the room, and then quietly said, "Smokey?"

Smokescreen turned at the sound of her voice, optics widening with concern as he spotted her on the catwalk. "Lex? Is something wrong?"

She glanced away, and that was all the answer he needed. His expression softened. "Do you want to talk about it, Sprite? Head to that little clearing just outside the Ark where we always go?"

Lex had looked up at her childhood nickname, and now she nodded. Without another word, Smokescreen held out his hand to help her down to the floor, before transforming and opening his passenger-side door. As slid into the passenger seat, his holoform materialized on the driver's side, arms resting on the steering wheel. "I'll comm. your parents and let them know where were going, and give them a rough estimation of how long we might be. Are you sure you're okay, though? You don't need to—"

"I'm fine, Smokescreen." Lex said sharply, cutting him off. "Let's just go."

A startled and slightly hurt look flashed across Smokescreen's face before his holoform flickered and vanished, and it was a moment before he pulled out of the hanger with a subdued rev of his engine. A soft, garbled noise played over his radio before falling silent, as if he had started to speak and then thought better of it. He could sense that Lex was upset no matter how well she tried to hide it, and it had more to do with what she didn't want to talk about than anything he had done, but it still worried him. His ward had always been able to confide in him before. What had changed?

Even though the clearing was fairly close to the Ark, the drive to it seemed to take much longer than it usually did. The clearing itself was small, its only defining feature a large rock with a slightly suspicious-looking set of shallow grooves on either side of it. Pulling up next to the rock, Smokescreen waited until Lex had climbed out of his interior before transforming and sitting back against the tall stone, his doorwings fitting neatly into the marks carved into it. Once he was comfortable, Lex climbed into his hand, and he held her up so that she could lean against his chest and listen to his sparkbeat. After a while, he asked, "Does this have anything to do with what happened at that party, Sprite?"

There was a moment of silence. Then…

"I hate it!" Lex burst out, hands clenching suddenly into fists. The anger and self-loathing on her face startled Smokescreen into forgetting what he had been about to say. "No one's forgotten what happened that night, and worst of all, _I'm_ the one dealing with all the fallout! I'm not the one who got drunk out of their mind and decided to kiss the person who was concerned enough to help me make it to the toilet to barf up everything I'd eaten, but from the looks and the whispers, you'd think I was! And then this… this _thing_ on top of it all…"

"What happened?" Smokescreen asked softly. He lightly rested the tip of his finger on the center of his ward's back in a comforting manner. "What is it, Alexa?"

"Bunch of notes got stuffed in my locker, some threatening, most just slurs. And my sketchbook turned up vandalized. No idea who did it, so I can't turn them in." Lex sighed. "And a lot of it seems to suggest that people think that I…Y'know, swing that way…Since I haven't dated or even had a crush on anyone yet… But there are several couples at school who are like that, and _they_ don't get harassed, so why me? And I don't even know if I'm like that, and I'm terrified! I mean, I've got nothing against those people, but I'm so scared…"

He understood. Adolescence was a difficult time regardless of species, and that was without the burdens on his charge because of her origins and the double life she led because she was associated with the Autobots. Now she was dealing with an uncertainty rooted in her very identity, and she had found out about it in one of the most unfortunate ways possible—especially as it put her at the mercy of her peers. "Lex, if one of your classmates is taking and defacing your property, then this has gone too far, especially considering you're also receiving threatening notes. Have you brought this up to any of the teachers? Or your parents?"

"No! Smokey, telling an adult at school isn't going to help—if anything, it'll make the situation worse. And… And I'm afraid to tell Mom and Dad. I know it's stupid...B-but…" She shook her head rapidly back and forth. "I-I'm not ready to tell them. I _can't_ tell them…"

"What about Annabelle and Eli?"

Another head-shake. "I…I'm not ready to tell them, either. You're the only one I feel even remotely comfortable telling now… Maybe because you're my Guardian, maybe because you're Cybertronian and not human—"

"Oh, thanks!" Smokescreen lightly teased, smiling down at the girl in his palm. "I'm glad it's because I'm your car that you think I'm worthy of hearing your deepest, darkest secrets…"

He thought he saw the corner of her mouth twitch up before she continued, "…Maybe it's because you're the one who found me, and I've looked up to you ever since. But I feel like I can trust you with all this…" She trailed off, staring into the trees at the edge of the clearing. "Smokey…If…If I'm…You know… Then…"

"Lex, regardless of what you turn out to be, no one's going to hate you for it—especially not your parents or I. Sam and Mikaela could not have loved you any more than if you were their natural-born child, and you'll always be the little firebird I pulled from the ruins of a city—even if you grew into a mischievous sprite instead of an elegant phoenix."

"Hey!"

Smokescreen grinned at the affronted look at his charge's face before he went on, "It doesn't matter as much as you think it does, Lex. Yeah, it's a pretty big realization, and it'll take some time to adjust to it, but you're still Alexa Sutton-Witwicky no matter who it is you end up liking. This isn't going to change that—after all, it's just a piece of who you are."

"But what about—"

"The kids at your school? Pfft. Forget 'em, Sprite. You don't know them, so why should their opinions bother you? I mean, I know that's a lot harder than it sounds, but just remember this: After you graduate, you'll probably never see them again. I know that you've still got some schooling left, but how many of these guys do you see on a regular basis? Although I still think it's be a good idea to mention that you've been having issues—isn't there a way for you to report what's been going on anonymously? It's there for a reason, so why not take advantage of it?"

"I…Guess I can look into it…"

Smokescreen smirked. "Atta girl, Lex. Feeling better now?"

She nodded, and he lowered her back to the ground before getting to his feet, stretching, and folding back down into his alt mode. As soon as she had buckled herself in, his voice floated from the radio, "So, you wanna marathon a show when we get back? I got out of patrol, so we've got plenty of time… Do you want to watch old _Star Trek_ or _Doctor Who_ episodes, or stream some of the newer ones?"

Lex thought about it for a minute. "How about we start with old _Star Trek_ and see how it goes?"

"Fine by me. Hey, I ordered something for you a while back and it finally came in. Take a peek in the glove box—Wait, no, close your eyes and put your hand in. Don't worry, it won't bite."

Lex did so, her expression changing to a puzzled frown as she pulled out something soft, oblong, and furry. Once she had the object in her lap, she opened her eyes and glanced at it in shock. "Is this a Tribble?"

"Yep." Smokescreen replied smugly. "And not just any Tribble, but _THE_ Tribble."

"Oh my God! Who the heck would sell something like this—How much did you _pay_ for something like this?!"

"Not as much as you might think, Sprite. I…Had a bit of help, actually…"

"You did?"

There was a nervous laugh. "Yeah. I…Might have been snuck up on by Sideswipe when I was looking into getting you a Tribble… And he _might_ have offered to help pay for it if I didn't mention to anyone else that he was going to go buy another couple hundred of the things…"

"Smokey, you didn't!" Lex hugged the Tribble to her chest. "Now I'm gonna have to hide this before we end up blamed for a full-scale reenactment of _The Trouble with Tribbles_ and 'Hide ends up blowing them all up!"

"Or they end up in Jackie's lab."

"Or in the Medbay."

"What would the Hatchet want with a Tribble?"

"You're right. I'd be more worried about a super-sized Tribble suddenly showing up in Wheeljack's lab."

"Or if he suddenly ends up with more than he started with. What would we do with them then—drop them on the drones and the 'Cons?"

There was a moment of silence as Smokescreen and Lex tried to picture such a scenario, and then they both burst out laughing at the mental image of bewildered drones and Decepticons alsike being bombarded by a rain of stuffed furballs. After a few minutes they were able to bring their mirth back down to a manageable level, though there was still an occasional snicker when they started thinking about it again. "I know you don't really like Sideswipe," Smokescreen began, "But you have to admit, it's worth seeing what he's going to be getting up to. After all, his shipment of Tribbles should have some in…"

"Well… As long as my Tribble stays safe from any irritated parties…"

"I'll keep it in my subspace until everything blows over."

"Then I guess…Why not? I am kind of curious as to what kind of prank needs a couple hundred Tribbles…"

"We could also wait until just before Sideswipe is ready to set up the prank and then steal them all—can you imagine the look on his face? I mean, I'm sure he'll suspect me, but I bet I can get Jazz's help so that there's no conclusive proof it was us…"

Smokescreen grinned internally as he listened to Lex start laughing again. "Let's do it! C'mon, let's get back to the Ark—If we're too late to prank Sideswipe, I at least want to see what happens next _!_


End file.
